DETROIT – Wings defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo is glad he got a second opinion on his injured left shoulder.

Now he hopes his return to the lineup follows.

“Getting a second opinion on it really helped,” said Colaiacovo, who saw his personal doctor in Toronto 10 days ago. “He saw some things there that were of some concern. I’ve dealt with them, I’ve treated them. I’ve been getting myself to the point where I’m close to 100 percent.

“It’s been a long time but at this point there’s no sense rushing it back,” Colaiacovo added. “I’ve been out this long I need to make sure it’s 100 percent ready when I get back there. The season’s winding down, the games are getting more important, the last thing I want to do is force myself out there and put myself in a vulnerable position.”

Advertisement

Colaiacovo was injured during the second game of the season and hasn’t played since.

“It’s been real frustrating, both mentally and physically, through this whole time but I’ve got to credit the training staff and the doctors, they’ve been real good and real patient with me, even management and coaches, they’ve understood the difficulty I’ve been going through, understand that I’ve been working my rear off on and off the ice,” Colaiacovo said. “I’m really doing everything I can to get this thing to where I need to be. I’m at that point now where it’s really close and I’m hoping that these next coming days I can give it a real shot.”

Colaiacovo first injured his shoulder during the lockout at the Spengler Cup on a hit by teammate Damien Brunner.

He then re-injured the same shoulder on a check against the boards in Columbus.

Colaiacovo said the original injury to his left shoulder had completely healed before starting the season.

“This is a fairly new injury to me,” Colaiacovo said. “I never really had a shoulder issue like this. It’s amazing, especially in hockey, how much your shoulder has an impact in what you do, striding, contact, shooting, passing and stick-handling. Everything you do with the puck involves you moving your shoulder and using it and just talking to different guys who’ve had similar injuries, they said it takes a long time. Obviously, finding out what I found out put a clear picture in my mind of why I was feeling the way I was feeling.”

Colaiacovo, who signed a two-year deal worth $2.5 million a season, has been knocked for his inability to stay healthy. He’s yet to play more than 67 games in any season.

“Conditioning is not going to be an issue,” Colaiacovo said. “I’ve been skating and training real hard both on and off the ice. I’ll be pretty close to where I need to be. Obviously, being in game shape is totally different, the timing of everything. Obviously, the speed of guys in practice is nowhere near the speed of guys in the game. But I’m confident in my abilities, that when I get out there the rust will settle pretty quickly and I’ll be back to where I need to be.”

He’s also has been able to get in some physical contact at practice.

“I’ve always said I was close but I just needed to get over the hump and I couldn’t figure out what was stopping me from getting over the hump,” Colaiacovo said. “Over these last two weeks we figured out what the issue was. We’ve taken care of it and we’ve dealt with it and now I’ve been able to take the strides I needed to take to make sure I’m ready.”

Nyquist returns again

With Patrick Eaves sidelined with a sore jaw after taking a puck to the face at practice Tuesday, the Wings recalled Gustav Nyquist from Grand Rapids.

And it’s his job to make the Wings want to keep him here.

“He’s got some skill,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “He’s obviously a real good player. He’s led everywhere he’s ever played in scoring. The problem with the NHL is you have to come up and grab hold of something. You know, we called (Joakim Andersson) up for a game and he’s still playing because he grabbed hold of something. That’s what Gus has to do.”

Andersson was recalled from Grand Rapids on Feb. 8 and has not left the lineup.

Heading into Wednesday’s game, Nyquist, 23, has one assist, a minus-1 rating and seven shots on goal in four games in Detroit.

“We sent him to Peoria to play the game (Tuesday) night, gave him a six-hour bus ride and let him sleep for a bit,” Babcock said. “We’ll see how mentally tough he is. That’s all part of the training to be a Red Wing.”

Nyquist is leading the American Hockey League with 60 points (23 goals and 37 assists).

“So you get another opportunity,” Babcock said. “So if you’re Gus and you get in there and you do great things, guess what happens? I think Cal Ripken played shortstop for 22 straight years, or something like that, didn’t he?”

Ripken played a Major League-record 2,632 consecutive games over a 17-year stretch with the Baltimore Orioles.

Send comments to chuck.pleiness@macombdaily.com and visit his blog at redwingsfront.wordpress.com